Tuesday, February 23, 2010

One of my friends & ex VIT'ian, Daroga (I am not the only one with a funny name !!!) was on a business trip to US and Ashish (Another friend & Classmate of VIT) planned a perfect itinerary for New York and Washington DC. Makes me wonder again - Does staying abroad improve bonds? (I was in Mumbai for one full year and these guys were located 160kms east in Pune and we never bothered to meet there!!)

So, it was all set. I was to fly down from Montreal and Daroga was to fly UP from Memphis (Dont bother to google it - it is located east central US - in the state of Tennessee) - We were to meet in Newark. Ashish was to drive down to our hotel at Newark. The plan was to cover New York on Saturday and visit Washington DC the next day. Since we had limited time in our hands, we had to prioritise our plan and decided to visit 'Not to be missed' places in both cities...

DAY 1:

We started off with the statue of liberty. Unfortunately, by the time we reached the ferry, tickets to the crown were already sold out. Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun discussing the future of Daroga... As long as it is not your future, it is always fun to discuss !!! Daroga's logic is beyond the comprehension of mortal human beings...

Me just before taking the ferry to Statue of Liberty...

Ashish n Daroga

Just before taking the ferry...

The city called New York !!!

We took the ferry only to realise that it is an overrated monument. Nevertheless, we indulged in some photgraphy all while we were discussing Daroga's future - Me n Ashish were speaking as if we were born out of a wisdom tree !!! Well, as long as YOU are not the center of the discussion it is always easy to give advices and we were doing just that !!!

Daroga's logic captured in my lens !!!

Here's one for the camera..

And one more...

Probably some more people might have had the same experience when they visited it for the first time. It certainly is an archaelogical wonder and is a great place but somehow i personally felt it is too much hyped. We indulged ourselves in some photographs and then in shopping.

It was time for our return ferry back to Jersey where we had come from. Incidentally, Jersey city has a lot if Indians/Asians - not sure why. Probably New York may be very costly to stay and hence people may prefer to do up-down from Jersey city. We head straight to New York from there.

We reach WTC and the site which was wrecked a few years back. The memorial there takes you back to images and stories of what happened some years back. A few moments later we are at a restaurant having a sumptuous meal of chicken and pizza. A few moments and a few cigarettes later,we start walking on the famous streets of New York. New York is best experienced when you walk. You get to feel the atmosphere and the ooze of people around you. It had been a while since i had seen so many people together... Canada is not so densely populated - probably because of the harsh weather and Montreal has just the right number of people to give the warmth it gives...

For the next 3-4 hrs we were on the streets of New York seeing some places which would have been on the 'To-do' list of many people across the world. The New York stock exchange, wall street, empire state building, the raging bull, Times square...

The bull that is not running these days !!!

New York Stock Exchange...

The stree that changes fortunes !!!

Top view of New York from Empire State building (107th floor)

Times square was full of life and you can feel the energy as soon as you reach. Glittering advertisements and equally glittering women !!... It certainly would feature as one of the best in my memories for a long time.

After spending some time at Times Square we head back to Jersey City where we had parked our car. Time for us to head to Philly where we had booked a hotel for the night..

DAY 2:

Early in the morning (9AM it is !!!), we start our journey towards the Capital of US, Washington DC. DC has enough stuff and history to keep you rooted for 3-4 days. Plenty of museums and memorials which take you back to 'those' times of war. Great place to know more about American history. We had just enough time for White house, Lincoln Memorial, war memorial, Vietnam war memorial and Capitol house (the Parliament). Walking on the frozen water body in front of the Lincoln memorial was real good fun and watching Ashish fall through one of the holes was even more fun !!

White house...

DC is a 'must see' for history lovers and other lovers too !!!

Just as there is an end for everything, this one too had one. I had to go to Matawan (small township in NJ) to report at our office the next day for some official work...
And we part, after a wonderful two days of fun and great sight seeing. I must say it was well planned by Ashish who took the pains to fix up everything beforehand...